Chapter 11

I stared into Nicholas Shaw's eyes, now transformed from deep blue to pitch black, similar to Gregory's eyes when we first met in that alley. Sharp fangs appeared as he opened his mouth, and my gaze was fixed on his lips moving as he spoke.

This couldn't be happening.

Suddenly, he stepped closer, and my automatic response made me step back until my back was against the wall. We were alone in this place, and I didn't notice where the others had gone. I raised one hand to prevent him from getting closer, but my hand trembled violently, my whole body shaking as if shivering from cold.

"Don't—don't come closer."

"Eleanor..." He halted his steps. Slowly, I witnessed a transformation within him. His black eyes almost returned to their original deep blue, and his two fangs completely disappeared.

"P—please, let me go," I pleaded with a trembling voice.

He stopped in his tracks, three steps away from me, his hands at his sides. "I can't. I'm sorry."

"What do you want from me?"

Was he going to kill me because I discovered their secret?

He didn't answer. He just stood there, looking at me with the only expression on his face at the moment – a wounded expression. He was no longer the Nicholas Shaw I knew. The cold and mysterious demeanor was gone, no arrogance and intimidation in his eyes anymore – only a wounded expression. It was as if he had removed the mask he wore all this time.

"I would never hurt you, Eleanor." He locked my eyes with his gaze.

"Then what do you want fr—from me?"

For a moment, he stared at me with desperation, then one of his hands moved to run through his dark brown hair in frustration. "Everything."

I could only stare at him. For a few seconds, silence filled the kitchen until he spoke again. "I want you."

"What?"

He looked at me for a moment. "What can I do to make you not fear me?" His eyes focused on my slightly trembling hands. "Tell me."

"I— I want to go home." Hoping that tomorrow morning, I would consider all of this just a dream. "I won't tell anyone, as long as you don't— you don't—"

"Hurt you?" he interrupted angrily, yet there was no anger in his expression. He closed his eyes for a few seconds, then clenched his jaw tightly before continuing, "I'll give you time to think. But I can't let you go."

"Please."

He just nodded stiffly before turning to walk towards the door. "Eric will take you home, Miss Heather." His voice sounded cold, not turning back to look at me while speaking. Then, he left me alone.

***

"Ella."

I faintly heard someone calling my name in the darkness.

"Ella..."

I opened my eyes slightly, light flooding my room, making me squint.

"Ella, you're going to be late. It's almost 8."

My head pulsated as I opened my eyes again, "Lana?" My voice sounded husky.

"You have to get up now if you don't want to be late." She was already dressed in her work attire, standing at the edge of my bed, her hands folded on her chest.

I tried to smile at her, "I'm okay... just a bit dizzy." I answered while getting out of bed. I massaged my throbbing temples with one hand.

"Maybe you should take the day off, Ella. You look sick." Lana furrowed her brow in concern.

"I have to go to work today." To divert my mind from last night's events. I walked to my bathroom, leaving Lana in my room. Fifteen minutes later, I was in Lana's car; she offered to drive me this morning after trying to convince me once again not to go to work.

"Ella—"

"I'm just a bit under the weather, Lana." I interrupted before she could ask about last night's events. Lana just glanced at me briefly before nodding, not speaking for the rest of the journey.

***

Vârcolac. Vendalla. Vorvolakas. Vrykolatios. Vampyr. Vampire.

Vampire.

The word echoed in my mind. I wasn't one to believe in legends or such things, but after last night... I didn't know anymore. Nicholas's heartbeat was palpable when he kissed me, and he seemed very human. His skin didn't sparkle in the sunlight, unlike what I read in Twilight. Okay, that one was from Twilight, not the internet.

I typed the Shaw brothers' names into G****e, and a second later, a plethora of information about them appeared. Most of it was about stocks and the cases they handled, with minimal personal information. So far, I only found their alma mater at Harvard. No information about their life before that, no mention of their parents' names, birthplaces, or even birthdates.

There were only a few articles mentioning that Nicholas Shaw was 32 years old and Gregory Shaw was 30. But their faces looked four years younger than the mentioned age. Many gossip articles were filled with Gregory Shaw and his changing female companions almost every week, a series of photos with smiling women made me slightly nauseous.

Did he bite them too?

I couldn't find a single photo of Nicholas with female friends. And in all the photos on the internet, there wasn't a single one where he smiled. The cold and intimidating expression dominated those photos.

I stared at his picture in the latest article about their recent case, wearing the same suit he had on when we met in the Shaw&Partner building that night in Manhattan. The neatly combed dark brown hair added to the intimidating aura, the slightly arrogant jaw, and the cold expression clearly visible in his straight gaze at the camera.

But that night, when we met in front of the Shaw&Partner building, he looked at me with a different expression than in this photo.

"Ells?"

My hand automatically moved to hide the open webpage on my computer. I looked up at Oliver standing in front of my desk, smiling at me.

"Are you ready?"

"What?" I furrowed my brow a bit confused.

"Lunch. You owe me lunch, remember? It's almost lunchtime." He replied, still smiling broadly. The longer Oliver was around, the more he looked like Ken, the Barbie Ken, with his frozen smile on his plastic face.

"Oh..." Damn. As far as I remembered, I didn't owe him anything; he forced me. For a moment, I thought of ways to avoid him, but unfortunately, I didn't want to make enemies at work. Moreover, Oliver had a higher position than me, so he could easily bully me if he wanted.

"Okay, wait a moment." I mumbled while shutting down my computer and grabbing my wallet. I sighed quietly when he turned his back. Lana had sent several text messages to my phone asking about my condition; I replied quickly, telling her about lunch with Oliver.

"Are you ready?" he asked again.

"Yes." I answered shortly while walking beside him towards the elevator. I didn't ask him where we were going for lunch because I didn't care much. We used to have lunch like this often when we were still together.

Formerly. Seven months ago felt like seven years; now I was grateful that I had ended my relationship with Oliver. Lana and Christine were right; I didn't know how I could ever have liked a guy like Oliver. My taste was truly terrible.

"Ells?" Oliver stopped me suddenly. "I want to apologize to you." The smile on his face faded a bit, and he observed my reaction.

"I've already forgotten it, Oliver." I forced a neutral tone, trying to hide any emotions.

"You've forgotten it?" His smile widened. I just nodded, attempting to maintain a forced smile. "Good, I thought I had to beg you for forgiveness. I know you still like me."

I halted my steps suddenly. "What?" My forced smile vanished.

Oliver stopped a step in front of me and turned around, looking at me with a gleaming smile. He took one of my hands into his, "I want us to get back to how we used to be."

This time, I couldn't hide my surprise and anger from my face. "Oliver, there seems to be a little misunderstanding between us." I responded with a voice I tried to keep as neutral as possible.

He nodded several times, still smiling broadly, "I know, you just misunderstood, Ells. Bianca and I are over; she was my biggest mistake. I want you back."

Bianca was his mistress.

I took a deep breath before answering, "When I said I forgot, Oliver, I meant I forgot about you too. There's nothing left between us."

The smile on his face quickly faded, "What?"

"We should just be friends, okay?" I tried to pull my right hand, which he was holding, but Oliver tightened his grip.

"Have you found someone to replace me already, Ells? This quickly?" His voice sounded slightly offended, and all my patience ran out at this moment.

"Listen, Oliver, you cheated, and we ended it a few months ago. It's all over. If I find someone, it's none of your business."

The guy is only apologizing now!

Oliver's face turned red with anger as he listened to me, "You know, Ells, you've changed." He suddenly grasped my wrist with the hand that was free.

He's completely insane.

We probably looked like a couple in love to anyone passing by. With a feeling of disgust, I watched as he lowered his face towards mine, closing his eyes.

"Oliver—" my sentence was cut off when someone suddenly pulled Oliver away from me and punched him in the face until he fell. Oliver held his face with one hand, looking shocked before glancing at his assailant with a fiercely angry expression.

With my mouth agape, I turned my gaze to the broad-backed man in front of me.

"Don't. Touch. Her."